Georgia grand jury on Trump interference recommended multiple indictments: reports
The forewoman of a Georgia grand jury assembled to review Donald Trump’s interference following the 2020 election suggested the former president and multiple allies could face a variety of charges as a result of the probe.
In interviews with both The New York Times and The Associated Press on Tuesday, forewoman Emily Kohrs offered limited insight into the grand jury’s report, which was only partially released last week.
“It is not a short list,” Kohrs told the Times of the people and crimes referenced in the report.
The known targets in Georgia include former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and 16 Republicans who held a meeting to carry out a fake elector plot by voting to certify the election for Trump, who lost the contest.
But Kohrs demurred when asked about charges for Trump specifically.
“You’re not going to be shocked. It’s not rocket science,” she told the Times.
A Georgia judge allowed the release of just three sections from the grand jury’s report, which was expected to include charging recommendations. The public saw limited sections of the 8-page document.
Kohrs told reporters that the report also includes eight pages of legal code appended to its recommendations.
“I will tell you that if the judge releases the recommendations, it is not going to be some giant plot twist,” she said.
“You probably have a fair idea of what may be on there. I’m trying very hard to say that delicately.”
The investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is seen as one of the most promising pathways for an eventual prosecution of Trump, who in a phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) asked him to “find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have.”
The grand jury never heard from Trump directly.
“Trump was not a battle we picked to fight,” Kohrs told The Associated Press.
But Kohrs made clear the call was an important starting point in the investigation.
“We definitely started with the first phone call, the call to Secretary Raffensperger that was so publicized,” she said.
The few pages of the report shared publicly showed the grand jury determined that there was no widespread fraud in the 2020 contest and encouraged the prosecution of witnesses who may have lied to the panel.
“We find by unanimous vote that no widespread fraud took place in the Georgia 2020 presidential election that could result in overturning that election,” the grand jury wrote.
“A majority of the witnesses believes that perjury may have been committed by one or more witnesses testifying before it. The Grand Jury recommends that the District Attorney seeks appropriate indictments for such crimes where the evidence is compelling,” the report states.
Willis has said charging decisions for “multiple” future defendants are “imminent.”
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